Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Invincible Season 3, Episodes 1-3.
Invincible Season 3 is only three episodes in, but it’s already up-ended the status quo: Mark Grayson’s days of taking orders from Cecil Stedman are now officially over.
It’s not hard to see why, either. In Season 3, Episode 1, Mark finds out that Cecil’s secretly recruited murderous vigilante Darkwing and deranged scientist D.A. Sinclair into the GDA fold. And when Mark confronts Cecil about his dubious hiring standards in Episode 2, he triggers a sonic device the GDA sneakily implanted in Mark’s skull! So, Mark clearly has legitimate reasons for severing ties with Cecil.
But here’s the thing: while I get where Mark’s coming from, I’m not entirely on his side. On the contrary, my big takeaway after watching Invincible Season 3’s three-episode premiere is that – dodgy methods notwithstanding – Cecil is actually in the right.
Mark’s Beef With Cecil Is Valid (To a Point)
Again, I’m not trying to handwave Mark’s complaints about Cecil’s conduct. The ethics of the GDA director’s actions are deeply questionable; the morality and responsibility of power is Invincible‘s whole deal, after all. Guys like Darkwing II and Sinclair probably should be in jail. While both purportedly acted in service of the greater good, they killed people. They should face justice. But then, Mark has also used lethal force before; he beat Angstrom Levy to death at the end of Invincible Season 2 (or so everyone believes). Shouldn’t Cecil lock him up, too?
The sonic device Cecil had the GDA’s medics bolt into Mark’s eardrum is an equally murky area. On the face of it, performing surgery on someone without their consent – and designed to cause them tremendous pain, no less – is profoundly messed up. But think about it from Cecil’s perspective: if the crazy-powerful Mark loses his cool (as he’s increasingly prone to doing), it could be game over for Cecil. He needs some way of keeping Mark in check, otherwise he’s dead. The same goes for Cecil’s Reanimen-filled safe room: it’s a necessary insurance policy.
Cecil’s Past Supports His Approach to Mark and the GDA
Besides, it’s not like Cecil is flying blind in Invincible Season 3. As Episode 2’s flashback-heavy narrative amply illustrates, he’s being guided by his past experiences fighting the same good fight as Mark. Cecil knows that baddies like Darkwing and Sinclair can change for the better; he’s seen it before. His predecessor, Director Radcliffe, successfully rehabilitated Force Fist and Knuckle Buster (until Cecil gunned them down). And Cecil himself changed, becoming more morally flexible after serving time in prison and whipping the superpowered inmates into line. He learned that if you give people a second chance, they can do a lot of good for their country – or even their planet.
But Cecil also knows first-hand that people can change for the worse as well as the better. After all, Mark’s father (and Earth’s one-time premier do-gooder) Omni-Man tried to conquer the world in Invincible Season 1. The shadow of this betrayal still looms large over everything Cecil does in Season 3 – as well it should. While Mark isn’t quite as unbeatable as his old man at this early stage of his crime-fighting career, he’s rapidly getting there. And when he does finally peak, he’ll truly embody the Invincible name. So, what happens if Mark then breaks bad like his dad? Who’s going to stop him? That’s what keeps Cecil up at night, and it’s how he can justify roping in not-so-savory subordinates and approving sneaky inner ear implants.
Cecil Isn’t Just Protecting Himself From Mark – He’s Protecting the World
That’s ultimately what it comes down to, really: Cecil isn’t looking out for himself – he’s looking out for everyone on Earth. Does that mean he has the right to do whatever he wants, if it’s in service of this benevolent goal? Of course not. If he did, he’d be every bit the monster he fears Mark is capable of becoming. It does, however, entitle Cecil to a bit more moral latitude than normal. He’s a mortal man taking on aliens, mystical beings, and more besides; if he’s going to come out on top (and it’s in the world’s best interests that he does!), he’s going to have to cross a few lines. To paraphrase the GDA director himself, he’s not interested in being the good guy – he’s interested in being the guy who saves the world.
So yes, Cecil’s methods are often distasteful, even outright wrong, in Invincible Season 3. Collaborating with known murderers, developing covert countermeasures against Mark – it all stinks. But if that’s what it takes to save the planet? Let’s just say I can live with it.
Invincible Season 3 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.